Across The Stars- Star Trek Fanfic
by Lonely-Fangirl
Summary: This is my first fanfic, so please comment Nina Chaplin has always been second choice. Never has she been chosen. No one even wanted to adopt her. Everything changes when she meets Jim Kirk on board The Enterprise. Kirk/OC
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE**

Nina burst out laughing. Uhura could be funny when she wanted to be. "Hey, we need drinks, ladies!" screeched Lily, already tipsy as it was. Uhura giggled and asked around for drink orders. Lily, as always, wanted a Kardashian Sunrise with extra strawberry chunks, Hannah wanted a shot of Jack, and Nina asked for a Budweiser Classic. "Hey, let me go with you. I'll help you carry the drinks" called Nina over the thumping music. Uhura nodded with a smile on her face. As Nina got up, Michael Jacksons "Thriller" came up on the speakers. Nina liked classic songs like this. It beat the new techno music's ass.

The two girls walked over to the bar and leaned down and began spouting out their orders.

"One Kladnum Fire Tea, three Budweiser Classics, two Kardashian Sunrises and…" Uhura stopped, wondering what she should order for herself. "Try the Slusho, it's good" suggested the bartender in a friendly manner. "And the Slusho Mix, thank you."

"That's a lot of drinks for two women" said someone two seats over. A blonde man leaned forward with a flirtatious smile on his lips. Uhura rolled her eyes. "And a shot of Jack, straight up" added Nina, remembering Hannah's order at the last second.

"Make that two, their shot's on me" said the blonde. "Her shot's on her. Thanks, but no thanks" said Nina sarcastically. She knew this guys type. Sleep with you then never call again. "Don't you want to know my name before you completely reject me?" inquired the guy again. Nina was about to spit out some choice words when Uhura cut in. "We're fine without it".

"Calm down" whispered Uhura, noticing her friends temper rising. "You are fine without it", mumbled the man, pointing at the girls. Uhura put a hand on Nina's shoulder, but she wasn't about to punch the guy like she thought she would. Instead, Nina felt complimented. She wasn't really called pretty much, especially around Uhura. Nina brushed her dark hair behind one ear and started wondering if this lighting made her already snowy white skin even paler.

"It's Jim. Jim Kirk" said Jim, finally mentioning his name. The girls stayed silent, not really wanting to mention their names. "If you don't tell me your names, I'll have to make some up", he said. "It's Uhura" the dark haired girl said, rolling her eyes again. "No way! That was the name I was going to make up for you", joked Jim. "Nina. Nina Chaplin" said Nina, sticking her hand out to shake. "Yeah" said Jim, shaking her hand, but not really taking his eyes off Uhura. Nina retracted back into her standing position, hurt that, once again, she wasn't good enough.

"Uhura what?" asked Jim. "Just Uhura" she sighed.

"They don't have last names on your world?"

"Uhura is my last name"

"So they don't have first names on your world?"

At that, Uhura did begin to laugh. Jim walked up if front of the two girls and continued flirting. "So, you're cadets, you're both stunning. What are your focuses?" he asked, blue eyes fixed on Uhura.

"Weaponry Science and Combat Tactics" Nina mumbled. "That's hot", replied Jim, making Nina blush, glad for the red lighting hiding it. "Xeno-Linguistics" piped Uhura, "I bet you don't know what that is".

"The study of alien languages. Morpholagy, phinology. It means you have a talented tongue" replied Jim.

After that Nina stopped listening. It wasn't until one of her fellow cadets came up and shoved Jim. "Hey!" yelled Nina. Then Jim started to fights back. "Stop it!" she screamed again. After a minute of beating, Captain Pike came in and ordered all cadets to leave the bar. As Nina walked out, she noticed Pike helping Jim up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nina POV**

Nina raced across the grass towards the main buildings, thick, dark hair flying. Today was the day she would find out what Star Fleet vessel she would be joining as a tactical officer. Her cap fell off her head in her rush to have a peek at the lists.

Nina was on the early boarding list. Her grades and conduct had merited her to be told sooner than others cadets what ship she would be boarding. She also got to join the crew 5 months earlier than others.

"NINA" called out her friend, Lily, racing to catch up with her, but Nina ignored her friend's pleas to slow down. She screeched to a halt in front of the lists, pale cheeks flushed, and began to read.

"Nina, you dropped your cap" huffed Lily, red hair spiking out, clearly annoyed with her friends haste to find out what ship she was on. Without looking, Nina grabbed the cap from her friend and kept reading. Four lists later, Nina found her name. Lily noticed the look of excitement on her friends face. "What? What ship?" asked Lily excitedly. Nina began bouncing on her toes as she mumbled "The Enterprise".

The two of them squealed like giddy school girls on their first date. Lily was now a nurse on the Bradburry, unfortunately, but they promised to video chat as much as they possibly could. Before long, the two had to say their goodbyes and get their official uniforms. Nina felt the soft, red dress and draped it over her arm as she picked up the knee-high boots and ran towards the dressing rooms.

Not too long after, Nina dashed towards the travel ship on its way to the Enterprise dock. Nina stood in line when she saw other cadets begin to line up, more than were allowed on board early. Possibly the whole academy had come. "What's going on?" Nina asked another early admission student, Romi. "I heard that there was a distress call from Vulcan, all units are going there", he answered.

Nina was about to board the ship, when Bones, a decent acquaintance, shoved her over, some guy draped over his shoulders. He looked really sick.

_ But that doesn't make him any less hot, _she thought. She shook her head, _What the hell am I thinking?!_

Nina shook her head, trying to get those stupid thoughts out of her head. "Jim has to come aboard, or would you like to explain why The Enterprise warped off without its senior medical officer?" said Bones. Trying to avoid this sick guy and his good looks, Nina ran on board.

The stupid knee-high boots slowed her down. Nina raced around towards the combat tactic room when she crashed into Captain Pike.

"I'm so sorry, Captain" said Nina, out of breath. She straightened up, trying to look professional. "Oh, cadet Chaplin. I'm glad I ran into you" he said warmly, "I forgot to inform the council of a few changes regarding your position on the Enterprise. You are now first combat officer behind Mr. Bonheim. Congratulations".

Then Captain Pike spun on his heel and reported to the bridge, where Nina was now supposed to work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kirk POV**

"Lightning storm!" gasped Kirk, waking from the sedative Bones

zapped into his system. "Jim, you're awake" Bones said flatly. He took no notice of Kirk's fixation on the two words spoken in the latest debriefing.

"Good God, man!" gasped Bones, staring down at Kirks hands.

"AH!" yelled Kirk, looking at his enflames hands. "It's a reaction to the vaccine!" said Bones looking around for some more medicine. Jim got up and began running, looking for Uhura, who he had heard intercepted a distress call.

Uhura had confirmed that the attacking ship was Romulan. Jim and Uhura ran towards the bridge, yelling for Captain Pike. "Captain, we are warping into an attack! Romulans are attacking Vulcan" called out Jim, grabbing the attention of the aging man. "Kirk, what are you doing aboard this ship?" asked Commander Spock, who had accused Kirk of cheating on the Kobyashi Maru.

The two began to talk over each other, trying to out-wit each other. "Try it! This cadet is trying to save the bridge!" yelled Kirk, eyes burning with passion and anger. "Based on what facts?" challenged the stoic Spock, determined to undermine the cadet.

"That same anomaly, 'A Lighting Storm In Space', occurred on the day of my birth, when the USS Kelvin, with formidable and advanced weaponry, was never seen or heard from again" said Jim, determined to prove his point.

"HEY!" screamed a pale girl in a red dress. Kirk took notice to her good looks. She had wide, dark eyes and pale skin to contrast. Her black hair fell over her shoulders in silky waves. She stood determined and strong. "We have lost all communications with all other deployed ships" she said.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Chaplin. Red Alert!" said Pike calmly.

"Sir, the Romulans are firing a high-energy pulse device into the planets core" said a young, Russian teen. "Who has training in hand-to-hand combat?" asked Pike, planning to deploy a group of people to attack the device cutting into Vulcan. The dark haired girl raised her hand, along with the pilot.

"Alright, you two come with me" said Pike, "You too Kirk, you aren't even supposed to be here"

**Nina POV**

Nina pulled her hair into a loose bun and put the blue hood over it. She had just thrown on her jump suit, preparing to jump onto the pulse device with three guys, one of which was unfortunately Jim Kirk.

She still hadn't forgotten him. She just couldn't get him out of her head, ever after three years. There was just something about him.

Nina shook her head, ridding it of those stupid thoughts. She walked out, feeling self conscious in the skin-tight suit. Neither Sulu nor Olsen took notice of the curvy girl, but of course Jim did.

"Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" he asked, looking her in the eyes. "Yeah, I was there when you flirted with Uhura and got your ass handed to you" she said sarcastically. He laughed, a really nice sound. "Yeah, I remember you. You were the girl that was totally out of my league!" he said, a laugh in his voice.

"What?" asked Nina, shocked. "Yeah" replied Jim, "I could tell you wouldn't go for my crap, and, lets be honest, you are far too hot for me".

Nina blushed. She was being called _pretty. _By _James T. Kirk!_

While others started to board the shuttle, Nina's old friend Uhura came up to Nina, looking annoyed as usual. "A piece of advice, don't go for Kirk" she said, straight to the point. "Why would you care, since we're not friends anymore" replied Nina, trying to keep her voice level, but even she could hear the anger bubbling underneath. "He's a player. He doesn't really love you" she said, holding her ground.

"I think I can sort that out for myself", spat out Nina. She began to turn around, helmet tucked under her arm, when she got the perfect thought. "You know what, Uhura? You shouldn't judge based on stereotypes. You have no idea what his life is like" she said, contempt in her voice.

She spun on her heel and headed for the shuttle. She and Uhura used to be good friends. She had confided in her, and yet she betrayed her trust. Nina walked in on Uhura kissing the only guy she liked, _in her own dorm!_

So the two had a falling out, and Nina didn't look back. Why waste time on empty words.


	4. Announcement

_**Okay, my dear giraffes! I won't be updating for another week or so. I'm going to Colorado with my best friend, Blake. Then it's going to be my B-Day and then I'm meeting up with school friends and getting ready for school, so I'll be busy for a while. Keep holding on for a while and I'll be back! **_


	5. Chapter 4

**Nina POV**

Nina placed her helmet on her head, preparing to be launched at a planet. Strangely, she didn't feel scared, just nervous that her comrades would get killed. Honestly, she didn't care if she died. She slid a knife into her boot, just in case and began towards the shuttle.

Kirk, Sulu and Olsen sat down on the bench in the shuttle, discussing chargers. "Are you ready?" Nina asked Olsen. "Oh, yeah!" he replied, his grin wide and a little sadistic, "I'm ready to kick some Romulan ass!"

That comment didn't sit well with Nina, so she moved away from him and sat next to Kirk. The whole group sat in silence, not willing to say a word. Nina stole glances at Kirk, his words resonating in her head.

_You were the girl that was totally out of my league!_

Normally, she would have been flattered, but she knew that, in Jims mind, _no _girl was out of his league.

Soon, Captain Pikes voice filled the launch cabin, "Okay, we are above the Vulcan atmosphere. Be prepared for deployment".

All four people lined up and grabbed the pole on the ceiling. Nina looked over at Kirk and noticed that he was tapping his fingers on the pole. He was nervous. "Alright" announced Pikes voice, "Remember we cant beam you back until you disable that drill. Good luck".

Nina's body slammed against the ceiling. She felt her lower back bruise, but paid no attention. As the hatch opened, Nina let go of the bar and plunged into deep space.

Nina reveled in the silence. She looked around, noticing the beauty of the stars around her. She remembered when she used to stare up at the sky outside the orphanage, dreaming of a better tomorrow. She dreamed of being out there with the stars, flying high away from the horrors of life. Now she was here, but that fantasy faded far too quickly. Before long she felt herself entering the Vulcan atmosphere and back into reality. She looked around. Olsen, Sulu and Kirk were all still here, good.

"Kirk to Enterprise" Jims voice piped in her ears, "Five thousand meters". Nina listened to instructions through her earpiece before announcing, "Chaplin to Enterprise, four thousand meters". The quartet zoomed through the air before Sulu announced three thousand meters and Kirk, Nina and Sulu pulled their chutes, but Olsen continued speeding towards the drill.

"Pull your chute, Olsen!" yelled Sulu, but his please were ignored by the stupid adrenaline junkie. "Olsen, pull your chute, now!" yelled Nina, trying desperately to keep him from doing something stupid. But Olsen continued. It wasn't before five hundred meters that he pulled his chute, but it was too late. The heat pulled in his chute and he burned to death under the drill. Nina stared, wide eyed as one of her comrades died. She heard her two other partners breathing heavily in her earpiece.

One moment passed and Sulu and Kirk landed. Nina was about to touch ground when a Romulan shot her chute. Her heart pounded as she was being pulled down. At the last second she remembered that it was her chute being pulled, and she cut it off with the knife she had smuggled into her boot.

Her front slammed against the metal floor. She took deep breaths, shaken by her near death experience, when she noticed a big boot slam in front of her face. She felt a hand grip around her throat as she was lifter up off the ground and off her feet, face to face with a Romulan.

"Silly girl" he said, mock sympathy dripping from his voice, "You should have never left home". A sadistic grin spread across his face as he pulled out a handgun from his back pocket and took aim at her head.

Thanking God and whoever else was out there for her long legs, Nina kicked the creep straight in the crotch, hard. He yelled out in agony and dropped her. She landed on her feet and jumped up, kicking him in the face, then proceeding to punch him in the throat. He gasped for breath as she pushed him overboard. She felt a hand clasp her arm and she turned around and punched her assailant in the stomach, which she quickly realized was Kirk.

"Sorry!" she yelled over the wind and the drill. Kirk shook it off quickly, handing Nina a gun. "Shoot at the drill!" he yelled. She nodded and began to shoot like a maniac. The drill gave a small jerk and the drill was off. The group shouted for joy, jumping and high-fiving. The ran over close to the edge and looked at the planet from above when they noticed something being dropped into the hole.

"Chaplin to Enterprise" said Nina into her com, "They launched something into the hole"

Then the entire floor gave a jerk and Nina toppled over the edge just as the transporter said mockingly in her ear, "We're beaming you back. Don't move!"

Nina began to scream, realizing she had no chute. She had cut if off mere minutes ago. Faster and faster she fell, Nina didn't look down, as if not looking at the fast approaching ground would make her safe. As if it would stop her from falling. Nina screamed and screamed until she noticed a blue clad figure zooming down and catching her. She took in the blue eyes of Kirk, also chute-less, as the fell towards their doom.

"Kirk to Enterprise, we're falling without a chute!" he yelled into his com. He repeated that and "Help us!" over and over again. Then Nina felt herself being transported. Then she felt herself slamming onto a glass floor, Kirk on top of her, breathing heavily. "Thanks" she said, out of breath, her heart pounding. "No problem" he said back. He smiled and then some medics came to check them out, rushing them to the medical bay, but Nina felt like this wasn't over yet.

And God knew she was right…


	6. Chapter 5

**Kirk POV**

Kirk's arm was being checked out in the medical bay. Spock was somewhere on Vulcan trying to save the Elders, God help him.

Kirk kept glancing over at Nina, who was being looked over by Nurse Chapel. Something about her was familiar. The two were released by their attendant physicians and walked out of the medical bay towards the Bridge.

"What did you mean 'Out of your league'?" she asked, out of the blue. This was what Kirk was thinking himself. _No one_ was out of his league, but there was something about her that was eerily familiar, like he didn't want to hurt her anymore than she already was. "I don't know" he answered simply, but flashes from when he was a kid erupted in his mind.

These memories were almost forgotten, but they're still there.

* * *

_ Jim was eight, he was taking out the garbage while his mother was passed out drunk and his stepfather was getting drunk at some bar. Two houses down, a couple was yelling at each other. Without anything else to do, Jim stayed out and listened. There was some screaming and the sounds of slaps across some ones face. Then, out of nowhere, there was a gunshot and the sound of a body hitting the floor. A blood curling scream erupted. It sounded like a little girl. The girl, about the same age as Jim himself, came running out of the house, tears dripping from her face as another gunshot was fired and another body hit the floor with a large thud. _

_ The girl ran, but stopped in front of Jim. Her thick black hair hung below her lower back, jumbled in a tangled heap around her shoulders, her dark eyes looked haunted, like a puppy that had been kicked one too many times, and her pale skin showed dark bruises across her jaw. She looked him in the eyes, almost pleadingly, and the continued to run towards the policeman that was always on guard in their neighborhood. _

_ Years later, at age sixteen, Jim was being released from jail for stealing a car (again). He passed the interrogation room and he noticed that same girl from years ago. This time, she was in better shape. She had a perfectly curvy body with a defined waist and thin, strong arms, but her face was bruised and her lip was cut. Her thick, black hair was cut jaggedly at the nape of her neck. The cop seemed to be asking her questions when she glanced over at the door window. Jim noticed that her eyes still had that beaten puppy look in her dark eyes. Her eyes bored into his with a dark, terrified intensity. He stared back, but he couldn't hold her traumatized gaze much longer, and he walked away, got on his motorcycle and drove to the nearest bar._

* * *

Kirk remembered Nina running out of that house, remembered her in that police station, and knew why he hadn't hit on her. He explained to Nina as delicately as possible, but that hadn't stopped her from crying a little bit. "He shot my mom then shot himself" she mumbled under her breath. Jim looked over at her and recognized that old look in her eyes. The one that made her look like a lost lamb in a pack of wolves. He didn't ask any questions as they made their way to the bridge.


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the short chapter last time, but I'm thinking up some ideas for the rest of this story and the sequel. What should I call the sequel? Anyway, my updates will take a bit longer than usual because I just got a lead role in The Drowsy Chaperone, and I will be rehearsing like a crazy person, but I WILL be trying to keep writing in between classes and during lunch. Thank you for your patience! **

**Hoping you are fangirly, Lonely-Fangirl**

* * *

**Nina POV**

Nina and Kirk walked in silence. Neither of them wanted to bring up the fact that Jim had been there when her father had shot her mother. It was years ago, but the mere thought of it still made her feel like that helpless eight year old again, so scared to ask for help. She had never told anyone about her father's abusive tendencies. She did so because he only hit her and her mother when he was drunk, so she had forced herself to believe that it was only the alcohol hitting her across the jaw, not her father.

But that idea came from the mind of a helpless child who clung to stories and willed them to be real in her mind. Now Nina was 25 and facing far worse than a father drunkenly punching her in the gut. The Romulans were on their way to Earth and Nina was starting to get nervous that they couldn't stop them.

The silence became heavier until a loud and cranky yell broke through the thick hush. "JIM!" Bones yelled, running down the hall, "I just found a crack on the underside of the bone in your left arm. We need to check to make sure you aren't leaking bone marrow into your blood stream".

He grabbed Jim's shoulder and strode him back towards the medical bay. Jim looked over his shoulder quickly, giving her a sad look with his blue eyes. With both men gone, she allowed herself to lean back on the wall behind her.

Her eyes began mist up. She closed her dark eyes and took deep breaths. Footsteps could be heard just a few feet from where Nina stood, silently trying to control her tears. "Why the hell do you hate me?" asked an irritated voice. The voice belonged to a girl.

Nina opened her eyes to find Uhura standing in front of her, her hands on her hips. Nina scoffed, finding Nyota's complete apathy for Nina's emotions comical. "Why!" she demanded again.

It took a few moments, but Nina finally mumbled her response under her breath. "You knew I liked him" she said quietly.

"Oh, please!" cried Nyota, annoyed, "You are still stuck on him?"

This comment snapped Nina. She stood up from the wall, prepared to knock Uhura down a few pegs.

"You know how hard it is for me to trust people" said Nina venomously, "You knew and you broke that trust I had in you. I have never liked a guy before Charlie, and I thought maybe he liked me too. I confided in you, and I find you making out with him!"

"He came onto me! And why are your precious trust so hard to come by?" asked Uhura sarcastically. "Well, growing up in an orphanage does things to a person. Oh, how about the time my foster father hit me across the back of the head with a vodka bottle, yelling at me about being worthless? Does that give me the right to not trust people? Or the fact that people threw trash at me at school because I was the freak of the school? Or how about the two times I tried to commit suicide, and no one cared? They just handed me a bottle of bleach and said 'Try again'"

* * *

_A fourteen year old Nina walked through the house when her foster father, Tim, drank scotch straight from the bottle. She was about to creep away when a board squeaked beneath her feet. Before she knew it, the large man was pounding his fists into her jaw. He screamed in a drunken rage about how his wife left him and the only reason I was still in his house was because of the checks it brought in. _

_ He punched her stomach several times before throwing her on the ground and walking over to the table to retrieve his wallet to go to a bar. _

_ Later that night, Nina was found in her schools girls bathroom by a janitor with her wrists slit. She was unconscious for a week before she had to go back to the hellhouse._

* * *

Uhura stood, shell shocked, as the girl who usually kept a straight face and her feelings in check broke down in fits of sobs. "I'm so sorry" Uhura whispered. "I'm sorry, too" said Nina through sobs. The two stared at each other, teary-eyed, before they hugged each other, sobbing into the others shoulder.

Jim walked into the room and just stared at the former enemies now crying and hugging in shocked amusement.


End file.
